Hoop ear-ring.



C. F. NESLER.

HOOP EAR' RING.

APPLICATION FlL-ED FEB. 5, 1914.

1,139,309. Patented May 11, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

u TED srn'rns PATENT curios.

CHARLES E. N ESLER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG-NOR TO NESLER & COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HOOP EAR-RING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ll/Iay 11, 1915.

Application filed February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,694.

This invention relates to an improved hoop earring and the method of making the same, the hoop portion being made integral with the hinge of the ear wire. As previously made,hoop earrings were formed of a strip of material bent to form the hoop part with an open side, the hinge when being soldered to one end of the hoop, the hinge in turn being used for pivotally connecting the ear wire at one end to one end of the hoop. This soldering necessarily causes subjection of the hinge and also of the hoop portion to considerable heat, and while this does not injure some metals, in others, particularly in the cheaper grade of goods where composition metals are used, the heat directed against the end of the hoop when the soldering is done affects the original temper or hardness of the metal and it becomes soft. It is to avoid this that I have devised the improved method of making the earring, this method consisting of forming the hoop of one piece by subjecting the strip of which the hoop is made to an operation which reduces its thickness, which may be by burring or sawing horizontally through the strip, by pressing the end of the strip or by swaging or hammering it. This thinned portion is then curled or bent over to form a knuckle, which knuckle provides one element of the hinge, the ear wire being adapted to be perforated as is usually the case in this type of jewelry, and a pintle is then passed through the knuckle and through the perforated end of the ear wire so as to pivotally connect them. This method requires no application of heat to the strip, and in the case of composition metals the hardness of the material is not affected, this being particularly true of strips made up of two separate metals, for instance, rolled gold plate which is gold on a baser metal.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a perspective View of a strip of metal which has had one end flattened by a blow, in which case that part of the strip is broadened. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the thickened and broadened portion trimmed to the same width as the strip. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing it thinned and curled over to form a knuckle. Fig. & is a side view of a hoop earring made according to my invention, the hoop portion being formed of the strip shown in Fig. 3 after it is bent up. Fig. 5 is an end View of the earring shown in Fig. 4.

In this specification and in the claims the hoop portion which is known as a hoop in the trade, is called, for the purposes of identification, theornamental member.

In making the hoop earring I first provide a strip 10 which can be made by cutting off successive pieces of a longer strip, or they canbe made of proper lengths in themselves,

the strip 10 being suitably ornamented if it is to be an ornamental hoop, or left plain if the hoop earring is to be plain, it being preferred to place the ornamentation on the strip before it is made into the hoop, although this is not essential and the ornamenting can be done afterward if desired. The strip 10 is then subjected to an operation which thins one end of it horizontally, this thinning being done by any suitable operation, such as swaging, hammering, burring or sawing, although the preferred form is by means of a blow. The thinning operation when done in this manner spreads the material so that it is wider than the original strip. The thinned portion is shown at 11 in Fig. l, and when the thinner portion 11 is wider than the strip itself it needs to be trimmed. After it is trimmed it appears as is shown in Fig. 2, the thinned portion 11 having its edges 12 substantially in line with the edges of the strip, but these particular proportions of parts are not essential. The thinned portion is then bent or curled so that it forms a knuckle 13 with an opening 14: through it, the knuckle being rolled against the shoulder 15 which is formed on the thinned end of the strip. The knuckle can be of any size, but for giving a good finish to the earring I prefer to roll the knuckle so that its diameter is approximately the thickness of the strip 10. This is possible when the strip is of thick material, but in case of thinner material the knuckle necessarily projects beyond the top and bottom of the strip.

The strip 10 is bent into a hoop with an open side, and when so bent, the knuckle 13 is opposite the end 16 of the strip, the end 16 usually being provided with a notch 17 for the reception of the barb 18 of the ear wire 19. Any other suitable fastening means in lieu of the barb 18 can be employed, as will be evident. The end 20 of the ear wire is provided with a perforation, the perforated end of the ear Wire being set down into a slot 21 which iscut vertically in the knuckle 13, and when the ear wire is in place, a pintle 22 is passed through the knuckle and through the perforated end of the ear wire and then suitably headed or otherwise secured in place.

WVhen the piece of jewelry made according to this invention is finished and is subjected to the proper kind of polishing or other treatment, the exterior of the hoop at the knuckle end is smooth and is of good appearance.

It will be evident from this description that I can make the hoop earring and the knuckle of the hinge of one piece and without subjecting the earring to heat, which is necessary when the knuckle is fastened to the hoop by soldering.

My method reduces the cost of manufacture and makes a better article, since the knuckle does not come away from the body portion of the hoop which can happen when the soldering is not well done.

In the drawing the flattened end of the strip is illustrated in Fig. 1 as being wider than the original width of it, by reason of its being haimnered, but in case the flattening is done by cutting away a part of the strip, the flattened or thinned end 11 will appear as it does in Fig. 2 without trimming, as will be evident.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is z- 1. An ornamental member for an earring comprising a bent strip of metal with its ends adjacent, one end of the strip having a thinned part with a shoulder at its inner end, the thinned part being formed against the shoulder so as to provide a knuckle having an outside diameter substantially equal to the thickness of the main part of the strip, and an ear wire pivoted to the knuckle and adapted to engage the other end of the strip.

2. An ornamental member for an earring comprising a bent strip of metal with its ends adjacent, one end of the strip having a thinned part with a shoulder at its inner end, the thinned part being formed against the shoulder so as to provide a knuckle having an outside diameter substantially equal to the thickness of the main part of the strip, the knuckle being slotted, an ear-wire in said slot, and a pintle passing through the ear-wire and the knuckle, the ear wire being adapted to engage the other end of the member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand this 4th day of February, 1914:.

CHARLES F. NESLER.

WVitnesses WILLIAM A. SCHAEF, M. A. JOHNSON.

(fopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent N 0. 1,139,309, granted May 11, 1915,

upon the application of Charles F. Nesler, of Newark, New Jersey, for an improvement in Hoop Ear-Rings, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line l4:, for the Word When read than; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Offiee.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of June, A. D., 1915.

[SEAL-1 J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

